The iron gates of Paladas Academy loomed ahead, half-shrouded in early dusk.
Their steps echoed across the stone path leading back through the arching perimeter wall. The air here felt cleaner, thinner somehow—as if the ruins had clung to their lungs, and only now did they begin to breathe again.
No one spoke.
Azlin walked ahead of them, his posture straight, his face unreadable. Not cold. Not hostile. Just… distant.
Nagara had tried to catch his eye once or twice, but Azlin hadn't looked back.
And Rania—Rania was unusually silent, her steps measured and precise, her cloak still faintly glowing at the hem from the magic she'd used. The light had dimmed, but it hadn't fully left her.
The moment they passed through the outer threshold of the academy, two faculty members in gray cloaks intercepted them, eyes narrowing at the sight of the dirt and damage on their uniforms.
But they said nothing—only turned and led them quickly toward the upper courtyard.
Waiting at the center of it was Professor Lazlark.
His expression was unreadable beneath the wide brim of his copper-feathered hat, but the tension in his shoulders was unmistakable. He had clearly sensed something had gone wrong.
"Where in the Nine Seals have you three been?" he asked, tone low but sharp as glass.
Rania stepped forward before either boy could speak.
"We were trapped," she said simply. Calm, factual. "The interior chamber collapsed not long after we retrieved the relic from the northern column. A false floor dropped us into a deeper vault. We tried to find our way back but couldn't. The ruin was shifting."
Professor Lazlark's brow furrowed. "Shifting how?"
Rania tilted her head slightly. "The walls moved. Doors vanished. We lost track of time."
Nagara blinked. Even now, it startled him how composed she was. How clean the lie was.
Or rather—how selectively truthful.
Not a single mention of Azlin's possession. No Saerus. No flame. No light. Nothing about the man with pale eyes or the voice that cracked the sky.
She wasn't just hiding it—she was protecting him.
Lazlark's sharp eyes moved to Azlin. "And you?"
Azlin didn't answer.
He merely gave the faintest nod, as if confirming Rania's report. The professor studied him for a long moment, then glanced back at Nagara.
Nagara hesitated—his lips parted, but no words came.
He could still hear the voice in his head.
"I'm here to destroy everything."
So he said nothing.
Eventually, Lazlark exhaled through his nose, the way he did when trying to suppress concern. "Come with me. You're being checked by the medics first. After that, I want a full written report from each of you."
Rania nodded once. "Understood."
Azlin didn't react.
As the trio followed the professor toward the healer's wing, Nagara finally moved up beside Rania and whispered under his breath, "You didn't mention it. Why?"
Her golden eyes didn't turn toward him. "Because if I did," she said softly, "he'd never be left alone again. And whatever that man was—whatever Azlin is now—we need time. To understand it. To protect him."
She paused. "And because they wouldn't believe us."
Nagara stared at her for a long moment.
Then, reluctantly, he nodded.
As they passed under the high marble arch of the medical tower, the sun finally dipped beyond the horizon—leaving behind a sky streaked with bruised purple and fading gold.
And in that twilight, three students walked in silence, bound now by a secret that had no name.